Busy meeting schedules, flexible working patterns and roles that frequently take people out of the office can lead to desks that are often unoccupied, taking up valuable space that could be put to better use.

You might think the ‘too many desks’ conundrum is easily solved by installing some breakout spaces, hot desks and lockers for personal items, but you’d be underestimating just how attached we are to the culture of the desk. Desks and desk territory are often tied up with status and a sense of belonging, so changing the one-desk-per-person model isn’t as easy as you might think.

We decorate our desks with personal touches, store untold goodies in the drawers and feel outraged if someone steals ‘my chair’ or sits at ‘my desk’ without asking. Simply telling staff that they will no longer have their own desk isn’t going to cut it, you need to change the culture and bring your people along for the ride. You also need to create attractive spaces that work so well people are actually happier working and meeting there than they would be staying at their desk. Add to that the ability to move around during the day and the subsequent reduction in time spent sitting and it could be a winning formula.